One of the most common things I see with the Thermal Camera, is
an unbalanced hoof. This can be caused by a variety of reasons, so
generally we refer you back to your Farrier to find a cause;
however it has a pretty direct affect on the joints in the leg
affected.
Most riders that I know want to prolong their horses
working life by as long as possible, and will often include
expensive joint suppliments into their daily routine wether
required or not, just to be proactive for the day its needed. An
unbalanced hoof put so muh stress on the joints, no joint
suppliment can help, so its a very real issue and one people need
to get sorted out.
This is an example of a hoof imbalance in the off front hoof,
you can see how the fetlock and knee are affected by this, in
inflammation. Once this has been rebalanced, the inflammation will
dissappear in minutes. Its caused by (in this example) the inside
of that hoof hitting the ground first, therefore the concussion is
travelling up the inside of the leg, and not the whole leg evenly,
greatly reducing the horses concussion absorbing ability.
This is an example of a heel to toe imbalance, and this is
affecting the check ligament under the knee. This one always
worries me as once this is done, your looking at a long turn out
period to recover. It again highlights how important it is to have
a good farrier, and keep on top of your horses Farrier needs.
Here is a pair of very unbalanced feet (see the red extending up
the legs, both inside and outside of the legs, exactly the same
side as the hooves are unbalanced)
And this is the same hooves, about 10 minutes later after the
trimmer balanced to the pictures, amazing stuff!